Dad fumes, pacing back and forth across the kitchen. The vein near his right temple bulges, his hairless scalp making the blood vessel more pronounced. "I'm going to go to the police station and give his father a piece of my mind. What kind of boy is he raising?"

My father's anger matches my own. As soon as I climbed into the car with Mom, he went off on this seemingly never-ending rant over the car phone, which continued when we stepped into the house. He turns to me, staring at me with an intensity that could have frozen the Pacific Ocean. "You were supposed to call us to pick you up."

I drag the back of my hand across my eyes, barely containing the ball of fury threatening to erupt inside of me. "He said he would take me home."

Mom pulls out the chair next to me and sits, her large hazel eyes locked with mine. "Do you understand what could've happened?"

"Why do you think I hit him and jumped out of the car? You told me to punch him if he tries anything and I did, so I don't get why you are mad at me."

Dad sits down on the other side of the kitchen island, fingers adjusting the metal frame of his glasses. "Amaya, no one is blaming you for being abandoned. Or for hitting him. Believe me I'm damn proud of you. I want to go over there and tell him what I think." He exhales loudly. "But what happened with Bax isn't the only concern. There is also a wild animal out there. What if you ran across it?"

My face becomes rigid, jaw clamping tight, teeth grinding. What if I ran across it? I've been running from Raiju for the past five years. The wolf is the reason I'm sitting in their kitchen. My face heats as I glare at my father, but I remain silent.

"You broke the rules. You were supposed to remain at the diner."

At that moment everything snaps inside, all the emotions I try to keep under control drown my insides and I snap. "I'm obviously a big disappointment, so why don't you just bring me back to the orphanage? Get a better child."

Mom jerks back in her chair, her already alabaster skin takes on a paler, sickly look. A wet gleam forms in my father's eyes. The vice on my heart squeezes with just enough pressure to be a constant pain, killing me every day a little bit more. "I don't fit in here! Just look at how disappointed you are in me. Look at all the problems I cause. Homeschooling in Warsaw, then we moved here. And I don't fit in at school either. I don't fit in anywhere. All I cause is misery."

Mom's lips tremble, wet trails from tears line her cheeks. "What do you mean you don't fit in here? That you cause misery? Have we ever made you feel that way? Everything we've done is to help you because we love you."

My fingers lace into my hair and I tug at the roots. I want to scream. To shake them until they get it. I'm tired of being trapped inside my own skin. I'm tired of living a complete lie. "I know you didn't want me. You didn't want to adopt a teenager." This is as close as I could, or would ever, come to telling them the truth.

Mom's eyes go wide, bouncing between Dad and me. Her lips part, struggling to come up with an answer. "Amaya—"

I jump to my feet, my chair scraping across the tile floor. My hands ball into fists. "Janice, don't." My throat becomes too tight to say anymore when her jaw drops and tears trail down her cheeks.

Dad rubs his palms over his face, jaw clenched so tight I'm afraid his teeth might crumble from the pressure. "Amaya, we weren't sure what we wanted. But I can tell you when we saw you, meeting other children wasn't an option. It's you we wanted and I don't know what else to do to make you believe that. To make you secure that we won't ever leave you."

If he only knew how wrong he was.

Dad clears his throat and sits straight, hands folded. "Between the Warren boy and whatever animal is out attacking people, Mom or I will pick you up after school. And no more social outings for the time being. I don't want anything happening to you."

A low growl rumbles in the back of my throat, my fingernails digging into the skin of my palms. "I'm capable of walking home. And what if I need to go to the library after school? How am I supposed to learn to take care of myself if you won't let me make mistakes?"

"Learning from your mistakes is one thing, but there are people being attacked by a wild animal. I'm scared myself just taking the garbage to the curb." Mom sucks in a deep breath, her perfectly manicured nails tap rapidly against the granite countertop. "We are just trying to keep you safe, Amaya."

Her words only fuels the fire burning inside me. Raiju could attack her right outside. She isn't safe with him in town. And I don't want her to die like my kaasan did. My fox mother was magical. Janice is human. She has no chance of surviving.

My fists punches against the side of my thigh. Deep breaths do nothing to calm my anger. But if my parents are at my side every minute of the day, they are only putting themselves in more danger. Plus, they aren't leaving me an option to find a way to get the wolf out of town. I step back looking both my parents in the eye, opening my eyes wide to catch the light. My parents left me no choice.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Everything slows. All sound fades until only the echo of my breath vibrates in my ears. My parents' irises twinkle as their pupils dilate. "I can walk home from school. You trust me to be able to defend myself."

The tension in my father's face lessens, but he's still frowning. Shimatta. Need to turn it up a notch. Sharp tingling, like tiny electrical pulses jumping from one neuron to the next, travels throughout my body. Perfect. "You're just overreacting and are very sorry about it. You know I'm safe and there's nothing to worry about."

Mom stands up and walks over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Sweetie. I'm sorry we overreacted. Just hearing about those victims the same age as you..."

Dad brings his hand to his forehead, his thumb and index finger massaging his temples. "You're right. I'm just angry at Baxter for what he did and that I wasn't there to protect you."

"It's only because you care." I wrap my arms around my mother.

Mom returns my hug. "Why wouldn't we care about the best daughter in the world?" Her eyes soften as she watches me. "Our own dear Amaya."

There it is. The stabbing guilt that inevitably follows any time I use my powers on my parents. They love me so freely and yet I continue to take, take, take. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go to bed."

There's nothing I want more than to make a nest of blankets and curl up in the center of them. I scurry up the steps and walk into my room, locking the door behind me. Cocooning myself in blankets, I let my human form slip away.

My tail adds an extra layer of warmth as I curl it around me. I shut my eyes, imagining my kitsune family curled against me. As a young kit, I would spend my nights snuggled up with my litter mates and older siblings. One of the hardest things about being human is curling up in a cold, empty bed every night.

I never had to lie to Kaasan. Not that it would have worked. She was clever. She had the most tails of any fox in the skulk, a whole seven tails, despite only being five hundred years old. Tails are earned through wisdom and cunning gained over the centuries. It is the ambition of every kitsune to become one of the legendary nine-tailed foxes. Kaasan was insatiably curious, leaving us for months on end as she hunted down rare books or obscure facts. When she returned, it was always with new stories and experiences to share with me and my siblings.

Kaasan also spending hours coaxing secrets from the gods that inhabited our forest. She could've helped me figure out who killed Tori. I'm not sure Bax was involved. Sure, he's a disgusting human. But someone capable of murder wouldn't just have sped away, not in a desolated area like that. If he killed Tori, he would've reacted much differently when I slapped him. And Raiju didn't show up even when Bax got angry, even when I was out there all alone, which means Bax isn't controlling Raiju. He's just another target.

So why is Raiju attacking humans?

A bittersweet sorrow rises within my chest and I ball my body tighter, the surrounding blanket tickling my whiskers. Kaasan would've known what to do, but she is gone, and now I have to figure this out on my own. I shut my eyes and imagine hearing the wind rustling through ancient cedars and the breathing of sleepy kits, willing myself to sleep.

I start to drift off when the soft humming of my phone fills my ears. Stretching, I poke my head out of my blanket. On my nightstand, the screen illuminates showing several missed calls and messages. All from Sam.

I transform myself back into human form, grumpily pulling my pajama top over my head. My parents aren't the I-told-you-so type but Sam might be. Just as I finish getting into my pajama bottoms, the phone begins to ring again. I hit accept call. Sam is about to find out that you don't poke a wild animal. "What do you want?"

"Amaya! You're okay? Where are you, are you safe?"

"No thanks to you. You're supposed to be my friend. If you knew your brother was such a creep, you should've told me when I asked." I spit each word out with venom.

Sam ignores my statement. "Where are you right now? It's important."

"Home."

He breathes out. "Thank God. Wait, what happened with my brother? Are you okay?"

"Oh, your other half ditched me on the side of the road. My parents came and found me."

The crackling of air rushing in and out of his mouth, or nose, comes through the phone. But he doesn't speak. "Sam?"

"I'm gonna kill him."

I rub my temples. This night can't get any worse. "Wait, why did you call if you didn't know what happened with Bax?"

"You haven't heard? No, of course you wouldn't. My dad called about half an hour ago. Another student has been attacked."

My skin crawls. "Who?"

"Not sure. My dad was on his way out to the scene when he called. I thought it might have been you. God, I'm glad you're ok."

My lungs seize. I was out there in the storm with the wolf. A wolf.

"Oh, shit. Amaya, turn on the TV."

I hang up and dash down the stairs. To the surprise of my parents, I charge into the living room.

Mom puts her mug down, making as if to stand up. "Feeling better? If you'd like to join us, I can make you a hot chocolate—"

"No time," I tell her. "I got a call from Sam. Something's happened. I need to see the news."

Dad presses a few buttons on the remote. The local news channel jumps onto the screen. "Local girl found dead, third victim of vicious attacks."

"Oh my god." Mom puts her hand on my shoulder, staring at the TV.

I stare too. I can't take my eyes off the photo of Gretchen's friend, the other girl from the picture I found in my locker. Rebecca. So, there is a connection between Raiju's attacks and Tori Milton's death.

But why? Why would Raijin care about an American girl's death?

Mom puts her arms around me. Rebecca's sobbing mother explains how her daughter always went for a run around the block, no matter what the weather. The feed cuts to a photo of Sheriff Warren and his voice crackles into the living room, phoning in his part of the interview. He says his men are doing everything they can to find and stop the beast and urges people to remain calm.

I gulp, struck by the resemblance to Bax in the man's rugged features, especially his hardened eyes. Sheriff Warren is a man used to getting his way. The same look Bax had in the car. Maybe I had a lucky escape in more ways than one. After what he did, Blaire's claim about what happened at the party must be true. So why isn't Bax in trouble?